Cigar box



Jam 1944- E. w. LILIENFIELD r 2,339,933

CIGAR BOX Filed Aug. 25, 1943 I h WM Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITEDSTATES, PATENT- oFFic E CIGAR BOX Eugene W. Lilienfield, Chicago, 111.,assignor to Jose Escalante 8; Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Application August 23, 1943, Serial No. 499,631

3 Claims. 1 101. 217- 61) The present invention relates generally tocigar boxes. More particularly the invention relates to that type ofcigar box which serves as a medium for storing or retaining a group ofcigars, is adapted to be placed on top of a sales counter or case whenit is desired to display the cigars in connection with merchandisingthereof, and as its component parts comprises (1) a rectangular open topbody which is formed of wood or other suitable material and consists ofa bottom wall, a front wall, a back wall and a pair of side walls; (2) a4-piece rectangular frame which fits within the front, back and sidewalls of the body, defines with the body bottom wall a compartment forthe cigars and has the upper margin J thereof extending above the upperedges of the front, back and side walls of the body; (3) a cover whichis hinged to the back wall of the body so that it is movable back andforth between a closed position wherein it overlies and covers thecigars in the compartment, and an open position wherein it extendsupwards and rearwards with respect to the rear wall of the body, andembodies a depending marginal flange which when the cover is in itsclosed position surrounds the upper exposed margin of the frame andforms therewith a lap joint for hermetically sealing the compartment,and (4) a releasable instrumentality which serves to hold the cover inits open position in connection with display of the cigars.

One object of the invention is to provide a cigar box of this type whichis an improvement upon, and has certain advantages over, previouslydesigned cigar boxes and is characterized by the fact that the coverholding instrumentality is both simple and novel so far as constructionor design is concerned.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cigar box of the typeunder consideration in which the cover holding instrumentality consistsof a spring wire arm, one end of which is bent at right angles and isjournaled or pivotally mounted in a hole in the upper rear portion ofone of the side walls of the box body and the other end of which is bentat right angles in the same direction as the one end, is shaped to fitwithin a hole in the rear portion of the part of the cover flange thatoverlies said one side wall of the box body when the cover is in itsclosed position, and is adapted when the cover'is in its open positionto be inserted into its hole by first flexing the distal portion of thearm in one direction and manipulating it until said other end is inregistry with its hole and then flexing the distal porpiece of the framein order that the arm is nor- I mally 'locked in place, and saidadjacent side piece of the frame is mounted so that it maybe slidupwards out of its operative position in order to permit of readyapplication and removal of the arm constituting the instrumentality forholding the cover inits open position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cigar box whichis generally of new and improved construction and in which the arm forholding the cover in its open position is so designed or constructedthat the distal end thereof may be readily disengaged from the holedefining portion of the'cover flange when it is desired to close thecover;

Other objectsof the invention and the various advantages andcharacteristics of the; present cigar box will be apparent from aconsideration of thefollowingrdetailed description.

The invention 'consists in the several novel features which arehereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at theconclusion-hereof. v

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specificationor disclosure and in which like numerals of referencedenotecorresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure lis a perspective of a cigar box embodying the invention, thecover being shown in its open position and held" in place by the springwire arm;'

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section of-the portion ofthebox that is provided with the spring wire coverholding arm,illustrating in detail the manner in which the prox- -imal end of thearm is journall'ed and held 'in place; and H g g g Figure 3 is avertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The cigar box' which is shown in the drawing constitutes the preferredform or embodiment of the invention. It serves as a medium for storingor retaining a group of cigars and is adapted tobe placed on tcp' ofasales counter or case when-it is desired todisplay the; cigars inconnection with merchandising or selling thereof.

walls are connected to, and project upwards from, the marginal portionsof the bottom wall and are connected together at their ends so that thebody is rigid. They are of uniform height.

and have flat upper edges.

The frame 5 fits within the front. back and side walls of the body anddefines with the body bottom wall 8 a Compartment for the cigars. It

is of l-piece design or construction and consists of a front piece It, aback piece l4 and a pair of side pieces !5 and I 6. The front piece l3fits against the inner face of the front wall 9 of the box body 4 and isglued or otherwise fixedly secured thereto. The back piece H of theframe '5 is disposed in spaced parallel relation with the "front piece I3 and fits against; and is gluedor otherwise fixedly secured to, theinnerface of the back wall 10 of the body of the box. The frame sidepiece fits loosely against the body side wall I I and has inwardlybevelled end edges. The adjacent end edges of the front and back framepieces l3 and I4 are inwardly bevelled and coact with the inwardlybevelled end edges of the frame side piece l5 to form a mount or slideconnection whereby the side piece l5 of the frame 5 may be slidvertically into and out of its normal or operative position. When theframe side piece I5 is in its normal position the adjacent inwardlybevelled end edges of the frame front and back pieces l3 and M coactwith the inwardly bevelled end edges of the side piece l5 to hold suchside piece against inward displacement with respect to the side wall Hof the box body 4. The other side piece of the frame, i. e., the sidepiece l6, fits against the inner face of the side wall l2 of the boxbody and is glued or otherwise fixedly secured in place.

drawing, and also permits the arm to be swung upwards and rearwards intoan operative posi- The front, back and side pieces of the frame 5 are ofuniform height and the upper marginal parts thereof extend above theupper'edges of the front, back and sidewalls of the body and have theouter face portions thereof chamfered upwardly.

The cover 5 corresponds in size and shape to the bottom wall '8 of thebox body 4. It 6111-."

bodies a rectangular depending "marginal flange l1 and is connected tothe back wall lll of the box body by way of a pair of hinges 18 in orderthat it is movable back and forth between a closed position wherein itoverlies and covers the.

cigars in the compartment in the boxbody 4 and an open position whereinit extends upwards and rearwards with respect to the back wall I5. Whenthe cover is in its closed position the'margin'al flange !1 thereofsurrounds the exposed.

mounted hook it on the central portion of the sition. When the frameside piece I5 is in disconnected relation with the other pieces of theframe the arm 23 may be removed by shifting it the body side wall ll.

front part of the flange l1 and an outwardly extending head equippedstud 22 on the upper central portion of the front wall 9 of the box bodyserve releasably to secure the cover in its closed position.

The releasable instrumentality 1 for holding the cover 6 in its openposition consists of an arm 23 which is formed of spring wire ofsuitable gaugeand has one end thereof bent at right angles to form apivot part 24, and its other end bent at right angles in the samedirection as the pivot part in order to form a latch part 25. Theportion of the arm that has the pivot part 24 constitutes the proximalend of the arm and as shown in the drawing is interposed between theupper rearlportion of the side wall ll of the box body 4 and the upperrear portion of the side piece I5 of the frame 5. The pivot part 24extends outwards and is journalled or pivotally mounted in a hole 26 inthe upper rear portion of It permits the arm as a whole to be swungforwards and downwards into an inoperative position wherein the latchpart 25 overlies the upper edge of the side wall II of the box body 4 asshown by dotted lines in the tion. The latch part 25 of the arm 23 isadapted when the cover is in its open position and the arm is in itsoperative position to fit within a hole 21 in the rear portion of theside part of the cover flange that is coplanar with the side wall H ofthe box body 4 and serves when in its hole 2'l to hold the cover in itsopen position. In order to render the arm l3 operative when the cover 6is in its open position the portion of the arm that embodies the latchpart 25, i, e., the distal'portion of th arm, is flexed inwards and thenthe cover and arm are swung until the latch part 25 is in registry withthe hole 27. As soon as the latch part is brought into registry oralignment with the hole 27 the distal portion of thearm is flexedoutwards in order to bring the latch part into seated relation with thehole 21. When the arm is in its operative position with the latch part25 in its hole 2'! it serves as a brace or strut and hence locks thecover in its open .position and preventsit from being angularlydisplaced with respect to the box body 4. The mainportion of the arm 23is normally straight. When it is desired to close the cover the distalportion of the arm 23 is flexed or sprung inwards in order to withdrawthe latch .withdrawn from the hole the arm is no longer operative andbefore closing the cover the arm .is swung forwards and downwards intoits inoperative position wherein, as previously pointed out, the latchpart 25 overlies the upper edge of the sidewall ll of the body. When thearm is in its inoperative position the cover may be swung forwards anddownwards into its closed position. Theupper rear portion of the side Ipiece l5 of the frame 5 bears against the proxi- ,the-pivot part 24 inits hole26 in the upper mal portion of the arm 23 and serves to retainrear portion of the side wall H of the box body.

When it is desired to remove the arm 23 for replacement or otherpurposes the side piece l5 of the frame 5 is slid upwards out of itsnormal poinwards so as to withdraw the pivot part 24 from .the hole 25,By having the side piece 15 of the wall of the body so that it ismovable back and frame removable the arm 23 constituting the releasablecover holding instrumentality I may be rea:hly applied or removed.

The herein described cigar box is simple in design and hence may bemanufactured or produced at a low cost. Because the'box includes the arm23 for releasably holding the cover 6 in its open position it may beused toadvantage on top of a sales counter or casein connection withdisplay of the cigars in the compartment in the body 4. Due to the factthat the releasable instrumentality for holding the cover in its openposition is formed of spring wire and consists only of a normallystraight arm with bent ends the cost of equipping the box with theinstrumentality I is nominal.

Whereas the box has been described as a cigar box it is to be understoodthat it may be used to store or display other articles or merchandise.It is also to be understood that the invention is not to be restrictedto the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope ofthe appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a box adapted to store and displayarticles such as cigars and comprising a rectangular open top body, arectangular frame fitting within the front, back and side walls of thebody and having the upper margin thereof projecting above the upperedges of said front, back and side walls of the body, a rectangularcover provided with a depending marginal fiange and hinged to the backwall of the body so that it is movable back and forth between a closedposition wherein it overlies the open top of the body and the flangethereof surrounds the upper margin of the frame and an open positionwherein it extends upwards, and a releasable instrumentality for holdingthe cover in its open position, consisting of an arm having one endportion thereof interposed between one of the side walls of the body andthe adjacent side piece of the frame and provided with an outturnedextremity that is journalled in a transverse hole in the one side walland permits the arm to swing back and forth between an inoperativeposition wherein the other end of the arm is substantially flush withthe upper edge of said one side wall and an operative cover holdingposition wherein it extends upwards and rearwards, and having its otherend bent outwards and adapted when the cover is in its open position andthe arm is in its operative cover holding position to fit within atransverse hole in the side part of the flange that is coplanar withsaid one side wall of the body.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a box adapted to support and displaycigars or other articles and comprising a rectangular open top body, arectangular frame fitting within the front, back and side walls of thebody and having the upper margin thereof projecting above the upperedges of said front, back and side walls of the body, a rectangularcover provided with a depending marginal flange and hinged to the backforth between a closed position wherein it overlies the open top of thebody and the flange thereof surrounds the upper margin of the frame andan open position wherein it extends upwards and rearwards with respectto the body back wall, and a releasable instrumentality for holding thecover in its open position, consisting of a spring wire arm having oneend portion thereof interposed between the upper rear portion of one ofthe side walls of the body and the upper rear portion of the adjacentside piece of the frame and provided with an out-turned extremity thatis journalled in a transverse hole in said upper rear portion of saidone side wall and permits the arm to swing forwards and downwards intoan inoperative position wherein the other end of the arm issubstantially flush with the upper edge of said one side wall and alsoupwards and rearwards into a cover holding position, and having its saidother end bent outwards substantially at right angles and adapted whenthe cover is in its open position and the arm is in its operative coverholding position to fit within a transverse hole in the side part of theflange that is coplanar with said one side wall of the body.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a box adapted to store and displaycigars or other articles and comprising a rectangular open top body, arectangular l-piece frame fitting within the front, back and side wallsof the body, and

having the upper margin thereof projecting above the upper edges of saidfront, back and side walls of the body, and having one of the sidepieces thereof mounted so that it may be removed by upward slidingmovement, a rectangular cover provided with a depending marginal flangeand hinged to the back wall of the body so that it is movable back andforth between a closed position wherein it overlies the open top of thebody and the flange thereof surrounds the upper margin of the frame andan open position wherein it extends upwards, and a releasableinstrumentality for holding the cover in its open position consisting ofan arm having one end portion thereof interposed between the removableside piece of the frame and the adjacent side wall of the body andprovided with an out-turned extremity that is journalled in a transversehole in said adjacent side wall and permits the arm to swing back andforth between an operative position wherein the other end of the arm issubstantially flush with the upper edge of the adjacent side wall and acover holding position wherein it extends upwards and rearwards, andhaving its other end bent outwards and adapted when the cover is in itsopen position and the arm is in its operative cover holding position tofit within a transverse hole in the side part of the flange that iscoplanar with said adjacent side wall of the body, said removable sidepiece of the frame serving when in its normal position to retain saidout-turned extremity of said one end portion of the arm in its hole andbeing adapted upon removal thereof to release the arm so that it may beremoved from said adjacent side wall of the body by shifting it inwards.

EUGENE W. LILIENFIEID.

